Today is a super awesome and special Secret Recipe Club day – we’re all posting about tailgating foods!! When I first learned that there would be a special theme day all about tailgating recipes (aka, my favorite food group), I was so excited, so I’m thrilled that reveal day is finally here. I think that maybe even causal blog readers/Instagram and Twitter followers can see pretty easily that I am a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I have been counting down the days until the season starts since the Monday after the Super Bowl (10 days to go!), and I’m so ready for it to finally be here. One of the most fun parts of watching football is snacking on yummy food, and all throughout the year I have my eye out for new gameday snacks to try.

For this special edition of the Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Tara’s Multicultural Table, written by Tara, a wife and mom who has lived in some pretty amazing places! Her love of travel has extended to the kitchen, and on her blog, she shares delicious recipes inspired by cultures from around the globe. I can’t wait to try her Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas, Cookies and Cream White Chocolate Mousse, and Lemon Pikelets.

For a tailgating recipe though, I was so excited to try this Spinach and Fontina Bruschetta recipe! I already had a bag of spinach in the fridge, and I knew this would be the perfect way to use it up. TJ and I both love bruschetta, and truth be told, we ended up just eating this for lunch one day. I mean, it was seriously THAT good. I loved all the garlic in this recipe, and the slight heat from the crushed red pepper was just perfect. I will absolutely be making this again when the regular NFL season starts, and I hope you will too!

Printable Recipe
Serves 4-6

ingredients:
1 loaf crusty Italian bread, thinly sliced
olive oil, for drizzling
1 clove garlic, cut in halves
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 bag baby spinach
salt, to taste
4 oz fontina cheese, shredded

instructions:
Cover a baking pan with foil, and lay the bread slices in a single layer. Drizzle each slice with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted.

Once you take the bread out of the oven, rub each slice with the halved garlic.

In a skillet, saute the olive oil and minced garlic for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add in the crushed red pepper, and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted.

Top each slice of bread with the spinach mixture.

Top the bread with the cheese.

Return to the oven and cook 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Tara’s Multicultural Table